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The Alphabet House

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The One Man: A Novel

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Orphan X

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Publisher's Summary

Soviet Union, 1956: Stalin is dead. With his passing, a violent regime is beginning to fracture - leaving behind a society where the police are the criminals, and the criminals are innocent.

The catalyst comes when a secret manifesto composed by Stalin's successor, Khrushchev, is distributed to the entire nation. Its message: Stalin was a tyrant and a murderer. Its promise: The Soviet Union will transform. But there are forces at work that are unable to forgive or forget Stalin's tyranny so easily and demand revenge of the most appalling nature.

Meanwhile, former MGB officer Leo Demidov is facing his own turmoil. The two young girls he and his wife Raisa adopted have yet to forgive him for his involvement in the murder of their parents. They are not alone. Now that the truth is out, Leo, Raisa and their family are in grave danger from someone with a grudge against Leo. Someone transformed beyond recognition into the perfect model of vengeance.

Having enjoyed 'Child 44', I was most disappointed by this title. I agree with the other reviewers about the stilted and slow narration, which certainly doesn't help one's enjoyment - but more to the point is the fact that the plot is completely ludicrous and over the top. It's as though the author wants to pack in as much action as he can - the net result is that it all becomes completely unbelievable and, if anything, boring.

Isn't it true that so often second books are a real let down?

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Duncan

Oval, United Kingdom

5/26/12

Overall

"Sadly not a match for Child 44"

As a sequel to the excellent Child 44 ,The Secret Speech was a disapointment. The whodunnit (or whoisit?) element that worked so well in the first book was missing here, and I often found myself tuning out of lengthy passages of description or action that weren't as gripping as they could have been. A shame, as there were elements such as the criminal gang structures and activities that made for interesting listening - but not enough for more than 3 stars.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Jill

Roermond, Netherlands

10/14/09

Overall

"Not bad, but not the best"

I didn't enjoy this book as much as Child 44 which I thought was an excellent and well-narrated story. It is certainly action-packed, but I found some of the plot developments rather hard to swallow. My main gripe, however, is the narrator, as mentioned by another reviewer. All those strange pauses in the middle of sentences eventually proved to detract from the story itself, and in the end made finishing the book rather a trial.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Andrew

Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

4/28/09

Overall

"Engrossing thriller"

As good as his first book, but far more emotional.
The action sequences can feel a bit un-ending at times, and like the first book I suspect there will be some critisism of his "Dicken's" like approach to co-incide driven plot.
But overall; Intelligent - grown-up - engrossing - thrilling - fascinating - very violent - great dramatic - great dialogue - unpredictable plotline - life affirming - tragic - cliche and stereo-type free writing.

I hope there will be more of Leo, though I cannot imagine how his story can be developed further ... but then I couldn't have imagined this fantastic story either.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

John Dawson

5/31/09

Overall

"great book poor narrator"

Because i loved Child 44 so much I bought this without listening to the reader. I found him too slow and his style of reading broke my attention away from the book. So make sure you are ok with the narration before you buy.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Valentin

8/19/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Awful narrator, good story"

I've been listening to audiobooks for years and this is the first time a narrator has absolutely destroyed a book. Adding a huge pause after every full stop or comma makes it so annoying that I seriously considered returning the audiobook and getting a kindle copy, if only I had a kindle :)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

a

7/22/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Appalling performance"

Dreadful narrator made worse a dreadful sequel.Not a patch on child 44Should I bother with the 3rd?

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sara

Llanwrtyd wells, United Kingdom

7/15/10

Overall

"Excellent sequel"

Not quite up to the same standards as 'Child 44', but still a very enjoyable listen. This book seems to have a few more action sequences in it; not a bad thing in itself but one cannot help thinking it may be in order to increase it's movie appeal since, at the time of writing this review, 'Child 44' is a soon-to-be released film. I think The Secret Speech may have been written as a sequel to the movie and not as a sequel to the original book. A shame, but I suppose understandable.

I recommend this book highly as I found it a well-narrated and interesting listen, with the only negative criticism coming when comparing it to it's deeper and more intelligent predecessor.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Jamie

11/24/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"brilliant"

fantastic story, had me completely hooked. well read! cant wait to listen to the next in the trilogy. thanks very much ☺

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Martin

Brighton, United Kingdom

12/18/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Disappointing"

As other reviewers have remarked, this isn't a patch on Child 44. Ludicrous story stuffed with coincidences and plot devices, with a central female "villain" who is a grandguignol, cartoon character. The narrator is lazy and has no idea how to pronounce Russian words. Indeed,he struggles with some English words, reading billowing as bellowing and posed I as poised in his haste to get the job finished.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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